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Great city - well worth a visit

When you hear about the city of Durham it is often combined with the word 'historic', and historic it is.

In its history, it describes how a resting place was sought by a religious group for the body of St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne. The place chosen was on a hill almost completely surrounded by the River Wear. The body was kept in a wooden, then stone church before King William decided that it was an ideal location to defend from the Scots.

The Cathedral was built as a monumental shrine for St. Cuthbert and the castle was built for the previously mentioned defence and also to protect the cathedral. The result is one of the most stunning pieces of architecture this country has ever seen. The city developed from there.

***THE LOCATION AND AREA***

Durham is located in the North East of England, bordering with the picturesque countryside of Northumberland where there are other places of attraction such as Alnwick Castle. It's centre is situated on the river wear (looks nice from a distance but close up it does have its fair share of shopping trolleys), but wandering around on foot gives a more relaxed atmosphere on your visit.The City of Durham itself is defined by its appearance - the cobbled streets and fascinating buildings which have kept their character all these years are something that people associate with Durham. There are the main streets wth the well known shops, cafes and welcoming traditional pubs. The area is now almost totally closed to traffic, making the experience much more enjoyable and relaxed. There are a few large car parks but by far the best way is to take advantage of the park and ride initiative which has been a success over the past few years. You can park all day for approx £2 in one of 3 areas on the outskirts of the city - get the free shuttle into Durham, stay as long as you like and return free, when you want.

***SHOPPING***

Situated in Durham are some of the more famous names you will find in larger cities, like monsoon, topshop, new look, hmv and river island, but you also find a larger proportion of smaller names in Durham aswell. A lot of the property in the centre of Durham are listed buildings, so the main features have to be maintained - this means that the internal plans of buildings sometimes cannot be changed. Therefore the larger brand stores can find it difficult to find a suitable property in which to retail their goods. You will find that some of the stairs in shops and pubs are nowhere near straight and level - and this is the reason why! Access to the shops can be difficult for those who are less mobile - it is a very 'hilly' city with lots of steep hills and steps, so it may not suit the needs of everyone. The cobbles run throughout the city, and they are not always even - bear this in mind before arranging to visit. However there are plenty of little cafes and coffee shops if you want to have a breather and just sit and watch the world go by!

***FOOD AND DRINK***

As mentioned before there are lots of little cafes and coffee shops here you can grab a drink and a nibble. The bars and pubs are often open throughout the day that serve food - many with special offers on lunches. You have the larger chains like Yates an Wetherspoons, but also the more traditional pubs like the fighting cocks can offer two meals for under £10. On a night the city becomes more diverse, and you can take your pick when it comes to dining. For Indian food there is a lovely restaurant called 'The Capital' up Claypath where two can dine comfortably with food and drink for £40 - £50. For Chinese food, the Fat Buddha is relatively new, lovely food but quite expensive. There are plenty of Italians throughout the city which often offer 'happy hours' before a certain time, but are reasonably priced anyway. Most places do fill up so if you are planning a visit - it may be worth ringing beforehand to ensure a table.

***ATTRACTIONS***

The biggest attraction in the city is the Cathedral itself, but a stroll along the riverbanks, or even a row in the boats that you can hire make the day more enjoyable. The cathedral can be visited or looking from one of the citys bridges along the river and up at the cathedral is magnificent. I see this almost every week and still feel lucky to be able to have this on my doorstep. Sometimes you can't get moved for people arranging their cameras in order to get the perfect shot! There is also the 500 seat Gala Theatre if you fancy seeing a show or flick!Other attractions in the surrounding areas include Beamish - the larges open air museum in England - see how we live at the beginning of last century!Raining - why not drive 30 minutes North up the A1 to the Metrocentre at Gateshead passing the Angel of the North on the way (don't worry - you can't miss it!).

***ACCOMODATION***

Now this is the area which may let Durham down. Up until recently there was no large hotels, but lots of smaller B&B's on the outskirts of the city - which are very typical of the type of place that it is. The Radisson hotel has recently been built along the river offering accommodation on a larger scale or for larger groups. However to get a real feel for Durham, I would recommend at least considering a smaller, more cosy B&B. Cost ranges fro bout £30pppn - £100pppn, so make sure you shop around for best deal!

***NIGHTLIFE***

Durham does not have as much nightlife as other nearby cities like Newcastle, but it is still very busy with lots of bars like Walkabout, Jimmy Allens (lovely inside), Chase, Yates, Varsity and eve Ebony, the champagne bar. There is a wide range of pubs so you can go for lively if you want or soak up the atmosphere in a more traditional pub after a bite to eat. Do not be deceived by the tranquility during the day - the night time can be the same as anywhere and you can still see trouble sometimes and long taxi cues - which re now marshalled I believe. I ALWAYS pick a time to go home and book the taxi beforehand - saves time, money and hassle!

***SUMMARY***

The advantages of this historic city far outweigh the disadvantages. The beautiful views can compensate for the river not being as pleasant as it could and should be and the lovey bars and restaurants outweigh the fact that there can be some disturbances on a night out (but isnt there everywhere?). Its most definitely a place I would recommend to visit - even if its just for the day!

If anyone wants any more info I will do my best to help! Hope this is useful to you!

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A wonderful City!

I LOVE Durham!

I might be slightly biased though. As my user name suggests, I'm from Durham. I've lived here all my life and I can honestly say I love it here!

Durham is a really picturesque city with lots of amazing views, walks and things to do, the most obvious attraction being Durham Cathedral, known as The Cathedral to the locals, or to give it it's full name; The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham.

Along with Durham Castle, The Cathedral is perched on the highest point in the city inside a loop of the River Wear. It was built on this spot as it was an ideal position to defend against attackers.

The Cathedral houses the shrine of St Cuthbert, whose body was carried from Lindisfarne (Holy Island) in Northumberland to his final resting place in Durham.

If you get the chance, climb the 325 steps to the top of the tall tower. This gives a wonderful aerial view of Durham.

There are lots of lovely walks along the riverside. Go past 'The Count's House', which is a Grecian building belonging to Count Joseph Borruwlawski, a Polish born count who during his earlier years spent time at his 'quiet place' in Durham. Later in life he retired to Durham. he soon became well known, perhaps because he was only 3ft 3". The Town Hall contains a display case containing some of his clothes and his violin, all of which are miniature.

If it's shopping you're interested in, we do have a selection of high street shops and quite a lot of independent craft shops. If it's a big shopping experience you're after though, you would be far better placed to travel to Newcastle, which is only 15 minutes away by train, or The Metro Centre, approx ½ an hour away by car.

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"Why it is a perfect little city - if you haven't been, then go there today. Take my car!" wrote Bill Bryson in his best-selling Notes from a Small Island. It was this quote more than anything else that first made me want to go to Durham, when I read it a few years ago - it was one of the most highly praised locations in the book, and instantly made it somewhere I wanted to go. In the end I did get to visit the city... and ended up staying there for three years while I was an undergraduate! Durham is very small as cities go, and it is classed as such by the presence of the cathedral rather than by population (which would make it about the size of a small town). This is definitely one of its strong points though, as it is compact with most places of interest within walking distance of each other, and feels friendly in a way that most cities don't normally do. It is located just a few miles from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, and is sometimes referred to as the "posh North East", as it is perceived as something of an oasis of prosperity in a largely poor area. I personally have not found this image to be true, especially now I am resident up the road in Newcastle. The city of Durham is very popular with tourists as it is often visited as a historic city, along the lines of places such as Chester, Bath, Oxford and York. The old part of the city has its origins in the Middle Ages, as can be seen by the narrow streets and of course the cathedral and castle in the city centre. The cobbled streets, river walks and multitude of old buildings certainly enhance this picturesque image, and the scattering of colleges also seem to appeal to most people as it gives the place something of an Oxbridge air during term time. - Places to visit There are many places to visit within Durham, the most obvious of these as I have already mentioned is the castle and cathedral that are right in the city centre and literally next door to o ne another. You can go on a virtual tour of them both at: www.dur.ac.uk/Law/c_tour/tour.html should you wish. This part of the city (known as Palace Green) has recently been designated a World Heritage Site and is one of the most important historic sites in this part of the country. Durham cathedral is a beautiful example of Romanesque architecture and well worth a visit (I don't think any trip to the city is complete without it!) as the interior of it is absolutely stunning. While in this part of Durham, then the castle should also be seen as excellent (and inexpensive - £3 for adult and £2 for under 14s) guided tours are led around it on a regular basis out of term time. Palace Green is also home to the oldest parts of the university, with the old library (now housing just music, law and local studies), a couple of departments (theology and music if I remember correctly) and the oldest college (University College) that is actually housed in the castle (which is why is known to students as simply "castle"). This is where the graduation ceremonies are held and if my experience is anything to go by, the precessions provide popular photo opportunities for tourists! For information about castle tours, visit: www.durhamcastle.com For information on visiting Durham Cathedral: www.durhamcathedral.co.uk Elsewhere in Durham, there are three other tourist attractions, all run by the university - the Oriental Museum (near St Aidan's College), the Botanic Gardens (across the road by Collingwood College), and the Archaeological Museum (in the Old Fulling Mill, down by the river banks). All are worthy of a visit if you have some spare time after going to Palace Green, especially the Oriental Museum, as it is the only museum in the UK to be entirely devoted to the art and archaeology of the orient. You can get your visiting information from: www.dur.ac.uk/oriental.museum www.dur.ac.uk/botanic.garden/dubg/bghomep.html www.dur.ac .uk/ fulling.mill/index.php The university also hostsan annual regatta on the river each summer - it's a pretty big event ("the Henley of the North") if you are into sport, and this year will be on the 14th and 15th of June. Athletics events are also held in the city from time to time, but you would need to check with the tourist people for details about them. Durham is not short of places to stay in, either. Being popular with tourists there are several good hotels, and if you planning a visit out of term time, then most college rent out their rooms on a B&B basis, which can work out to be pretty good value and it also puts you in a central location. Shopping isn't too good in the city, however, as it is only small, so you are better off going to the Metrocentre in Gateshead - this is just 2 stops away on the train (change at Newcastle) and only costs about £3 for a return fare. There are some excellent restaurants though - I especially recommend Emilios on Elvet Bridge if you like Italian, or the Court Inn for pub food. - Close to Durham... Outside of the city, there are several other major attractions not far away. Probably the best known of these is Hadrian's Wall, which takes about an hour to drive to. As an archaeology student this was a real bonus as there are some amazingly well preserved sites along the Northumbrian part of the wall, such as Chesters and Vindolanda Roman Forts, and a couple of small museums, sections of wall and Roman shrines dotted throughout the countryside. Do make sure that you take warm clothing though, as the wall is very open and exposed, and it can get very cold up there even in summer! See: www.hadrians-wall.org Beamish Open Air Museum is a bit closer to the city, but it can get very crowded in peak season. The museum is built on an incredible scale, and houses a massive reconstruction of 18th and 19th century buildings and structures - it also often plays host to TV cam era crews who use it for a backdrop to period dramas and Catherine Cookson ada ptations! You can actually wander around period houses, shops schoolrooms, and travel between areas of the museum by their very own steam train or horse drawn tram (yes, it is that big!) I have written an entire review on this place if you want more information on it (hint, hint). ;-) And if it is nightlife you are after, then you will almost certainly want to come into Newcastle, as Durham is rather limited on that front. It is only 20 minutes by train, and the return journeys run until after midnight so you can make it back again. If you do ever get chance to visit Durham, then I would definitely recommend members to do so. Bill Bryson was absolutely spot on; it is a perfect little city! (Oh, and one more word of advice to potential visitors - driving in Durham is awful. It was the first city in the UK to have a toll charge to drive into city centre and many areas have to issue parking permits as roads are so narrow; parking is still quite limited, despite there being a new multi storey eyesore development. My advice is to use the buses wherever you can...)

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I am fortunate enough to live quite close to Durham, yet never tire of it when I visit. It really is a beautiful city. The Cathedral and Castle serve as an imposing backdrop as you approach the city, yet can only be appreciated when you acually go in take a look. The Cathedral is an architectural masterpiece, well worth a visit. The castle is also worth a look (there is an admission charge) but as it is used as Durham's University College it is often closed, particularly during term time. The city's streets are pleasant, and have a wide range of shops and restaurants (particulary Italian). The riverside area also always makes for a pleasant walk. There is a reasonable standard of nightlife, helped by the University, although it is not to the standards of nearby Newcastle. If you are in the North East, don't miss out on Durham, you'll be glad you did.

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Durham is a cathedral city as well as having a highly regarded university. During term time the population of the town grows considerably and the whole feel of the place changes. Teashops that used to be quiet are now full of students sipping their coffee and making grandiose plans for the future. The quiet pub is filled with others nursing their beer, ensuring that the one pint lasts as long as possible while in loud voices putting the world to rights. Yes Durham is a city of two faces, the quiet local town that is really a market town for the surrounding area, then the student city that brings a more cosmopolitan feel to the place. Its shops are basic with most of the usual offenders being in or close to the town centre. The Arndale centre on the outskirts being the main food shopping area, although in the town itself is a small Safeway and even smaller Iceland. The rest of the shops seem very geared towards tourism and lack for me any real charm, except for maybe the mugwump an eclectric shop that sells trinkets and clothes of ethnic leaning. Parking is however difficult and a new parking scheme seems to have made it even harder to park close to the town centre. It is for its night life that Durham is most known in the area, it is the focus of the outlying villages and on most nights of the week you find the pubs and clubs doing a roaring trade. It is however Friday through Sunday that most people are out, by out I do not mean out in a pub the people and students of Durham perform an almost ritual pub crawl moving onto pub after pub before ending up in on of the nightclubs. It is fun to watch groups of people moving on en mass to the next place to be, differant groups circulate in a differant order but if you see somebody you fancy in one pub but fail to make contact no worries they will be in another place you are before long. At the end of the pub night you make your way back to useually your first watering hole ensuring that you beat last orders by a reasonable time or the place will be so packed you have to wait to get in. Dress code for men is smart casual while for girls tight and revealing is the order of the day. The more flesh you expose the better but never wear a coat unless you want to be thought of as a wuss. Durham is a young persons town but offers little to do except for drink be it coffee or alcohol. Most of the other attractions are of limited appeal or can be seen easily within a days hard tourism. The Cathedral is worth a look although I cannot see how it won Britains best loved building recently. A place to visit yes, a place to live Not for me a little to souless and drink orientated.

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I have been to Durham many many times,and i still rate it as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, the setting of the castle and cathedral hanging over the river wear is truly a beautiful sight to see, if you are travelling from the south of the country and you travel by train you get a wonderful sight of durham and its cathedral as you pull into durham station over the viaduct.get your camera's ready. In many ways i think of durham as a small york.old bridges, a cathedral of course etc, but durham has a castle too, and a much older and more impressive cathedral in much better surroundings.also durham is much quieter with alot less tourists. the city itself is small, it has most of the shops u would expect to see in a city, and it has a market on most days too, the streets are old and quite narrow and pretty,but if shopping is your thing, u can always go to the metrocentre at gateshead about 15 miles away, which is one of the biggest shopping centres in europe, no one would come to durham to shop, its all about history, durham has the 3rd oldest university in england,and has quite a few famous old boys who studied there. durham is such a pretty city, it has so much more tourist protential, maybe even more so than york, if the council made an effort to improve things and give the tourists more to do, but they seem more concerned putting a new set of traffic lights in than do that which is such a pity

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The city of Durham is well known for its top-class university, but that seems to be about it. Certainly it doesn't have a reputation as a tourist city, and as such is one of England's most under-rated cities. It isn't a huge city - indeed isn't any bigger than a large town but is probably the most attractive in the north of England, if not the country. The centre-piece of the city is the stunning cathedral, in my opinion far more beautiful and interesting than York Minster. It is also possible to visit the adjacent castle, now a university college. The centre of the city itself isn't brilliant, shopping-wise, but is also very attractive. Many of the roads on 'The Hill' are narrow and dead-end, thus traffic is minimal. Durham is so small that a car isn't a necessity for a tourist anyway. Much of the area around the river is wooded, with some pleasant walks; you won't know that you're just minutes from the city centre. There are a number of museums and botanical gardens, some independent but others associated with the university. Accomodation can be found in numerous hotels or, during vacations, in the colleges. The latter has the advantage of reasonable prices and attractive surroundings in the heart of the city. There isn't enough to see or do for a long stay, but if you're in the northwest then hop on the train and take a look.

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Durham in general

The city of Durham stands on a loop in the river Wear and its skyline is dominated by its two finest buildings, the cathedral and castle. The best view of the city is from the railway station - one of the highlights of the London - Edinburgh journey!

Durham is a small city and easily done on foot. The place is full of small Georgian houses, good shops, as well as university buildings, Durham having been a university city since 1832.

The cathedral is inescapable and dates from 1093. It houses the bones of St. Cuthbert, brought there from Holy Island (Lindisfarne) in 995 AD. You enter by the north door with its fearsome sanctuary ring, a twelfth-century door knocker, and inside huge columns hold up the earliest Gothic roof anywhere. The tomb of the venerable Bede is here.

The castle, begun in 1072, houses University College and the eighteenth-century gatehouse has a Norman core, as does the enormous keep. Both the gallery and chapel are also Norman.

The streets around the castle and cathedral are occupied by colleges. To the south are more modern buildings although the new shopping mall in the centre of the city has been tastefully done.

Everywhere you look in Durham there is reference to the Prince-Bishops who until 1836 were a law unto themselves, wielding absolute power given to them by William the Conqueror in return for protecting this most remote, northernmost part of his kingdom. The bishops had their own parliament, made laws, minted coins and controlled the army. Even the king had to ask permission to enter their lands!

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I am fortunate enough to live quite close to Durham, yet never tire of it when I visit. It really is a beautiful city. The Cathedral and Castle serve as an imposing backdrop as you approach the city, yet can only be appreciated when you acually go in take a look. The Cathedral is an architectural masterpiece, well worth a visit. The castle is also worth a look (there is an admission charge) but as it is used as Durham's University College it is often closed, particularly during term time. The city's streets are pleasant, and have a wide range of shops and restaurants (particulary Italian). The riverside area also always makes for a pleasant walk. There is a reasonable standard of nightlife, helped by the University, although it is not to the standards of nearby Newcastle. If you are in the North East, don't miss out on Durham, you'll be glad you did.

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Durham has a pretty decent night life, it has loads of pubs and you can very easily pub crawl yourself around the city from student bar to student bar. And the prices are a bit cheeper than further down south. There is three clubs in Durham but none of them are really any good, Klute is always good for a cheesy night out with entrance fees ranging from 2.50 on weekdays to £4.50 at weekends. The drinks prices are not over the top either at about £2 a pint. The dress code is very relaxed there too but it is a bit grotty. The other two clubs, DH1 and Cafe Rock are a bit more 'towny' and tend to pull in the older crowd. They both have a very stringent dress code but Cafe Rock has really good drinks deals before the music starts at about 11pm. The only problem with Durham, if you are a student, is that the locals tend not to like southern students, i.e. if you have the wrong accent you better watch what you say - but I'd espect that that is the same in any UK city. Pubs to avoid : Fighting Cocks, Coach and eight. Pubs to go to : New Inn (CHEEP BEER + fit barmaids), Dun Cow (quiet and relaxing) + swan, loads of students like the Angel Inn too but it does attract a bit of a Rock/Goth Crowd. Durham is OK for shopping too with the building of the new Prince Bishops shopping center (which is just a new street). There is high stree shops ranging from Electronics Botique to Marks and Spencer. But there are also quite a few specilist shops such as the georgeon window which specilise in cristals and henna etc.... Great for students. The castle and cathedral are nice to look at and you can have a good day out looking around the cathedral. You cant usually get into the castle because its a student halls of residence. Come up and have a look. Cheers If you have any questions about Durham contact me at my email address on my profile.